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The thing about spending years sitting back and being the quiet, well behaved one meant that Mai had a talent for understanding people. She could observe a person and understand things from the way they held themselves or the way they talked that they themselves did not understand.
It was never a talent Mai was particularly pleased with, nor one she chose to hone, and yet it was coming in use now, spending time with Zuko and Azula in the palace. Zuko was a moron when it came to expressing any emotion other than anger or guilt, but she could see that he was fighting with something within himself and that he was dangerously close to bolting. Azula was simultaneously growing irritated with Zuko and enjoyed seeing him squirm, and yet at the same time was harried in the much the same way as her brother: she was struggling with the fact that she was not struggling like Zuko.
Mai knew she should be concerned. Azula was her best friend and, quite simply, she loved Zuko. The actions of the royal siblings could have an impact not just on them and on their circle of confidants but on the whole country and its ongoing war.
She was pretty sure she had some kind of… duty or something, as a Fire Nation citizen and a friend of the siblings to take some sort of action.
Mostly though, she was too busy feeling exhilarated about the fact that something exciting was finally going to happen.